Shochiku risutora

[Mark Schilling]

From: Mark Schilling <schill at gol.com>
To: KineJapan <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
 Subject: Shochiku risutora
 Date: Tuesday, March 09, 1999 

Re the Shochiku restructuring, here's my own article for Screen that might
shed a bit more light on the subject:

Tokyo: Shochiku president Nobuyoshi Otani has announced that, as part of
its restructuring drive, the studio is cutting back on production and will
no longer block book domestic films -- making it the first among the three
majors to end this decades-old practice. 
	In contrast to last year, when it made five films, Shochiku will have only
two in-house projects on its release schedule this year, one being the new
Nagisa Oshima film, Gohatto, that is scheduled to go before the cameras
this April. Also, instead of films from local producers, it will fill the
gap in its lineup mostly with foreign films. At AFM the company bought a
package of five films from Miramax, though it will not announce titles
until the ink on the deal is dry.
	Still undecided is the fate of Nihon Chinbotsu (Japan Sinks) -- an
effect-laden SF spectacular that was to be Shochiku's big film for the peak
New Year's season. Although work on the film's computer graphics sequences
has already started, Shochiku has not yet raised the Y1.0 billion ($8.2
million) to Y1.2 billion ($9.8 million) budget. "Chances are we will make
the film, but it will probably not be ready for New Year's," a Shochiku
source explained. "Now that we no longer have a block booking system, we
don't have to rush it into production to fill a slot in a lineup. We want
to take our time on it and do it right."
	Also reportedly under consideration are massive staff cuts and the
absorption of Shochiku Fuji, the subsidiary in charge of foreign film
acquisition, into the parent company. " We will do whatever it takes to get
the company back on its financial feet," said Business Division general
manager Junpei Koda, who has been intimately involved in planning the
restructuring drive. "We will have more to announce in the days and weeks
to come." 

By Mark Schilling